Born of Ashes
by starwarsfreak95
Summary: AU. Set after The Fiery Heart, Sydney is in Re-Education when she finds out that her birth control had failed her. Now she must find a way to save her and Adrian's dhampir child from the cruelty of the Alchemists, as well as her own sanity. Meanwhile, ignorant of this new development, Adrian is looking everywhere for Sydney. And if he finds her, what will happen to their baby?
1. Discovery

**A/N- This has been bouncing around in my head during my last few readthroughs of the Bloodlines series. The first few chapters will swap viewpoints, but later ones will probably have just one**

Sydney

As always, I woke in the dark.

They considered me guilty of consorting with darkness, so they kept me in the dark. Occasionally, they'd flood my cell with odd bits of light to keep me from truly resting. I had no way to keep time, which is how they wanted it. They wanted me confused, uncertain, exhausted and afraid. Too bad they had me instead. I was Alchemist enough to understand their methods, but there wasn't much they could do to me.

I had made plans on using my menstrual cycle to keep time, but it hadn't come yet. I was assuming that I hadn't been imprisoned as long as I thought. Time must be running more slowly than I thought. They must have been manipulating my sense of time like they were manipulating my diet.

Time passed, and what with all the thinking time that the Alchemists gave me, I began to wonder exactly how long I had been in here. I thought about the side effects of the birth control bill I had chosen and a disappearing menstrual cycle was not one of them. Even though every logical part of me told me that it was stupid, I began to worry.

"Hello again, Sydney," the mysterious voice said. It was a vaguely female, robotic sort of voice. It was bland enough to match the grey-white shift they had me wearing that barely gave me the illusion of modesty. It liked to talk to me, to draw me out. They wanted me to confess my 'sins' of my own volition. They didn't realize how unlikely that was. They had no hold over me. My sister betrayed me, my father hated me, and the rest of my family was unlikely to be able to see me. They couldn't do anything to Adrian either, he wasn't in their jurisdiction.

"We have news for you Sydney," I stayed silent. It was best not to talk to them. "We have discovered the depths of your depravity." The voice sounded equal parts gleeful and disgusted, even through the distorter. My stomach sank as I realized what they were about to tell me.

"We know about the mutant spawn you've created, Sydney."

No, not this, anything but this…

"You have been defaced, you must be cleansed." Tears filled my eyes as the signs I had been ignoring fell into place. Then her words penetrated the fog of fear, worry, and a tiny spark of joy. They wanted to kill my baby.

"What?" I said, then I shrieked at the top of my lungs "NO! NO! YOU CAN'T HAVE HIM! DON'T DO THIS!"

"You don't wish to be cleansed?" the voice asked, disgusted. I didn't care what they thought of me. The tears that had threatened earlier began to fall as I sobbed.

"Please!" I begged, "Please, I'll do anything! Just let me give him to Adrian, don't kill him please! He's just a baby, he can't help what he is! He's an innocent!"

"None of these creatures are innocent," the voice replied impassively.

"Please!," I continued, "he can grow up to guard more Moroi, that makes your job easier! Give him to Adrian, give him to a Moroi Academy, anything, just please don't kill him! Please!"

The voice was silent. I begged and pleaded and cried. I was serious too. In the moments since I learned of this little dhampir's existence, I had come to love it with all of my heart. It somehow didn't diminish my love for Adrian, it was as though my heart grew larger to accommodate all of the love I needed for my baby. It was probably the weirdest thing I'd ever experienced, but also the most beautiful.

Eventually, the voice returned. "We have decided that your plea for the creature's life indicates that you have not lost your morality, you are simply misguided and corrupted. In this light, we have decided to grant your request. When your creature can live without you, we will give it to its father and we can begin your reeducation in earnest. For now you must do what we say."

I swallowed. I knew that this would kill me. If not bodily, these people would kill my soul. But I knew that I had no other choice if I wanted to keep my baby safe.

Adrian

I was exhausted.

I could barely feel spirit anymore, even though I had quit my mood stabilizers over a month ago. I had spent almost every moment looking for Sydney in dreams. At least when I wasn't at Carlton. I had wanted to withdraw, but I knew Sydney wouldn't want me to. I had to finish this semester for her. She would have been so disappointed if I'd given up. This was an opportunity that she'd wanted for years, I wouldn't waste it.

So I didn't.

I kept painting.

If the palates had dimmed to black and grey, my professors and friends didn't comment. If the only colors I used were yellow and purple- well, only Jill understood. And I rarely looked into her eyes for the pity I couldn't face.

Every spare moment I was in a dream trance, searching for Sydney. All I had to go on was Marcus's thoughts. _They want to integrate her back into the fold. To do so, they'll try to make it as familiar as possible. She will be with Americans- her own culture by their thinking._ Honestly, it made sense. There's no way they'd expose her to new cultures. The problem with this theory was that I still couldn't find Sydney. I'd even tried in class once or twice to make sure they weren't using the time to manipulate me into not finding her. But in the end? Nothing. Except major spirit crashes constantly and my late great-aunt's voice telling me what I already knew- that I was a failure.

We practically harassed Maura, the new Alchemist. The most I'd gotten from her was a smirk when I mentioned reeducation. That smirk made me afraid. I wanted to compel her, but she probably didn't know Sydney's location. Marcus agreed. Even Jackie Terwillinger was searching. But her attempts to find Sydney magically were as fruitless as my plea to Lissa.

"Adrian," she'd said, exasperated, "She's under their jurisdiction. I cannot contest that under these circumstances. I'm sorry." In my fear and spirit induced rage, I'd attempted to verbally lash out.

"Doesn't matter if they're torturing her, Torturing her for being friends with us Moroi!" Lissa had sighed.

"I'm sorry, Adrian, there's nothing I can do." I'd simply hung up, afraid to speak. Afraid to tell her that my flame in the dark might just go out if we can't save her.

My phone rang again. Jill.

"Adrian, she'll be alright," Jill soothed.

"How?" I said softly in a broken voice.

"I don't know," she admitted, "But she's strong. And you're strong. You will make it through this, you both will."


	2. Confession

**A/N- I was going to wait a week, but I can't wait that long to share this with you guys. I have somewhere around 10 whole chapters handwritten, I am busy typing up chapter 6, and I still have a lot of plot. Don't worry, there's plenty of story coming!**

Sydney

Every day was a fresh new hell.

Every time I woke up, I feared they'd taken him away. I wasn't showing or feeling anything and I was given no doctors. No ultrasound. I would never get the experience of hearing my first baby's heartbeat on a monitor to know it was alive. I had to hope.

I'd spent the whole time alone thinking. I mostly thought of Adrian. I hoped that he would take little Aleks. That was what I'd decided to name him. Aleksandr Phoenix. I wasn't usually a fan of terribly odd names, but this was different. Adrian has always called me his flame in the dark. It seemed apt that my child be named after a beautiful, immortal bird that rises from the ashes of a fire.

Adrian. I missed him so much. I felt tears on my face again. I knew I would never see him again. I hoped that Jill was helping him make it through all of this. I knew that she'd be glad to help him with Aleks if he chose to hold on to the baby. My last gift to Adrian. A reminder that I love him and a reason to keep going.

I had complied in their search for information. One of the biggest things they wanted to know was how I had fallen. So I told them.

I started with Rose. Many people's stories started with Rose Hathaway, including Adrian's. But it was obvious that I had his heart. So I told them how terrified I was of Rose at first. I couldn't sleep near her. But then she'd saved my life from a Strigoi. I told them how that had softened me toward her and her kind. I told them that the real reason that I had helped her was that I believed that she was innocent. I told them about how I saw the love that she felt for Dimitri.

"Those creatures are not innocent, Sydney," the voice told me smugly, "You should have trusted your superiors, not your questionable instincts. They are created to be desirable for their prey, that is simple science." I stayed silent, not believing this. "What happened in Palm Springs, Sydney?"

"I had been fighting with my sister before I left," I told them, "I felt like I'd failed her. So I did what I could to protect Jill and help her be happy."

"That creature is not your sister," the voice admonished.

"No, but her behavior and age were similar," I countered.

"They are very good at appearing normal," the voice conceded, "But you should not have let the disagreement with your sister taint your relationship with the Moroi."

I proceeded to tell them about how I began to want to take care of Jill, and by default, since she cared about Adrian, I began taking care of him too. I spent time with him and became friends with him. I told them that I had spent a long time ignoring what I felt, trying to be a good Alchemist, before I decided to persue a relationship with him.

"Your statements give us hope for you, Sydney," the cool voice said, "You were attempting to fight through temptation. You should have requested a new assignment however."

I was quiet. I decided not to tell them about the magic, it would only get Ms. Terwilliger in trouble. I didn't tell them about Abe and my 'devil's bargain' either, I wasn't convinced that Abe's influence didn't reach this far. I didn't want him as an enemy. I thought about mentioning Marcus, but I didn't want them to find him or suspect that I knew his whereabouts. As if they read my mind, the voice spoke again:

"It's been recorded in your file that you have mentioned Marcus Finch and asked questions about him. Did he find you?" the voice sounded eager. I shook my head.

"Everything I tried was a dead end," I explained, "I never even ended up figuring out what it was he did, aside from rescuing Clarence Donahue from the Warriors of Light." I knew they would never believe I'd given up on Marcus, but this was a lie they'd believe. If they couldn't track him, there was no reason to think that I could.

"Marcus Finch betrayed our people," the voice said, "He corrupts innocent Alchemists and leads them down paths of darkness. Many of his associates have ended up here as well," the voice added smugly.

Adrian

Marcus had a lead after four months. Our first lead. He was meeting me in my apartment later to talk to me about it. Since I was done with classes for the summer, I had spent the day in the meditative state necessary for looking for Sydney in dreams. As had become normal, Aunt Tatiana was screeching at me about my inability to find Sydney. It was becoming harder and harder to ignore her. I'm weak, incapable… I shook my head. None of this was helping me find Sydney.

To distract myself until Marcus arrived, I checked my mail. I saw an envelope from Carlton. Surprisingly, I felt a bit worried. I almost hated myself for caring about grades right now, but I knew that Sydney would be so excited by the envelope. She would be so excited about me getting my grades back, and so proud no matter what my grades were. She'd be proud of me for finishing. I stared at the envelope, tears in my eyes. Finally, I tore it open. My eyes widened in shock as my phone buzzed with a message from Jill.

 _Awesome! She'd be so proud._

I looked at the sheet of paper with a mix of A's and B's on it, and knew she was right. Sydney would have been pleased. She would have been so proud, and would have proposed a celebration for the next time she could get away. She would have likely driven me out to Pies and Stuff. The paper fell out of my fingers a I put my head in my hands.

When I answered the door to Marcus's knock, he was wise enough not to comment on my bloodshot eyes or the sheet of grades on the floor.

"I found something," he said instead. I felt something I hadn't let myself feel in a long time. Hope. "I found the list of possible locations of the Reeducation center."

"Well where is she?" I demanded.

"I still don't know yet," he admitted, "We have to scour each city individually. It will take anytime from a few days to a few weeks to knock a city off the list."

"Then what good are you?" I spat almost regretting it, but not quite. _What do you think you're doing, boy? You're never going to find her this way._ Aunt Tatiana was right.

"It's something," Marcus said quietly, "I'll do what I can and keep you posted." I simply nodded, distracted by Aunt Tatiana's torrent of abuse. She kept bringing back up the fear on Sydney's face when she'd spoken to Keith. That was what I was abandoning her to. I almost didn't need Aunt Tatiana, I could have done plenty of personal harm all by myself. That night, I took the first drink I had drank in ages. And I didn't stop.

Because the center didn't hold.


	3. Pain

**A/N- Two chapters in one day? I must be going soft ;) This is going to diverge from Canon like a lot here. At least in regards to what happens in re-education. Thanks to Blomb97 for my first review! (The rest of you guys should thank them too, my excitement at the review is why you're getting another chapter so soon) Also, this chapter is a little tiny bit graphic what with torture and babies and such. It's not terribly so, and not much more than the books itself. So be warned readers.**

Sydney

Once they stopped asking questions, that's when they began the true reeducation. Ignoring my state, they began physical torture.

The first day of my new torture routine, they brought me into a room where they hooked me up to a machine. They pulled up a projector and pulled up a picture of a Strigoi.

"What is this?" the cool voice asked.

"It's a Strigoi," I said.

"How does it make you feel?" the voice pushed.

"A bit nervous," I admitted, "Those things shouldn't exist." That was one thing everyone agreed on. Strigoi were perversions of nature.

"I want you to repeat after me," the voice said, "Say 'This is a creature of evil.'"

"What?" I asked confused. Suddenly, my arm was lowered into a vat. I screamed so suddenly and so loudly that I thought I felt something tear in my throat. It was as though I had lowered my arm into a vat of pure pain.

"Say it!" the voice commanded.

"This is a creature of evil!" I choked out in a harsh scream. They pulled my arm from the vat. Miraculously, it was unmarked. I started feeling a bit sick, and not because of Aleks. This is what they were going to do to me.

And so they did.

I was submitted to the torture for hours at the time. After they were convinced that I was properly terrified of Strigoi, they moved on to Moroi.

This was the hardest thing I'd ever experienced. After the arm of mystery acid proved to not work, they started both arms. Then they started on my legs. After a while, they began to lower my whole body into the vat of acid. As I screamed, the cool female voice spoke.

"You can stop this anytime you want Sydney," it said, "The power is in your hands." I couldn't speak at all, all I could do was scream. Eventually, I passed out.

After that particular incident, they moved on to a drug that made me feel like I needed to throw up, but I couldn't. They'd show me pictures and video of innocent Moroi, even some of Adrian and Jill.

When I'd been in there around five months or so, or at least that was my guess based on the tiny, but significant bump over my stomach, I started to worry about how I'd react to a Moroi. I wondered if any of this was taking. I didn't feel like I meant any of it, but I also didn't know. If I ever got out, I didn't want to be afraid of Adrian. But then I wondered if it was at all possible for me to be afraid of Adrian.

I was glad I couldn't see my body much anymore. I knew I was huge, and I felt awful. I was glad that the Alchemysts didn't know how worrying my weight was for me, I knew they'd have done something awful like mirror all of the walls.

When I wasn't being tortured, I liked to imagine how Adrian would be. In my mind, Adrian was an amazing, devoted dad, much like he probably would be for real. When the first visible bump showed up, Adrian would have looked at me with his irresistible green eyes shining. He would have been so proud of himself, and would have cracked jokes all the time. When I felt fat, he would have made a point to tell me how beautiful I was. He would have read strange poetry to Aleks, and talked to him constantly. I rubbed my belly.

"It'll be okay, little Aleks," I croaked. I always made a point to talk to him, no matter how hoarse I was. If I ever got to see him again after he was born, I wanted him to remember me. Suddenly, I felt something move against my hand. "Aleks?" I croaked again. "I felt another movement against my hand. Tears began falling. If Adrian had been there, I would have yelled his name, and he would have come in a panic, thinking something was wrong or that I was going into labor. I would have placed his hand against my belly and told him to talk to the baby. He would have, and he would have sat there in wonder as he felt his own child's movements for the first time. Proof of life. I cried harder.

I cried because my baby was alive.

I cried because Adrian would never know this.

I cried because I would never see Adrian to tell him about this.

An indefinable amount of time later, I began wondering when my due date was. I figured I was fairly close, but not terribly so. I winced as Aleks felt the need to kick with both feet somewhere near my spine.

"Shh, little Aleks," I told him, "You'll be out of there soon. You'll get to meet your daddy soon."

Suddenly, a sharp, awful pain ripped through me.

"Ohhhh…" I moaned, "No, please not now…" For a while, I felt like the universe had given me a reprieve. But it hadn't. After a significant amount of time with random, regular ripping pains, I heard the voice through the speakers.

"You are paying penance," it said, "Cleansing the body of darkness is a painful process. Soon, you will be able to truly begin your journey back to the light."

So that's why there were no painkillers. Not that I expected any, the manipulation they were doing was more their style.

"Alright, Aleks," I said, gritting my teeth, "Don't make mommy wait too long, okay?" The only response was another ripping pain. I screamed. All I wanted was Adrian. After the pains began getting closer together, I couldn't help it.

"Adrian…" I moaned in pain, "Adrian, please help me."

"Only God can help you now," the voice said.

After more pain, I heard a small pop, and the floor was suddenly covered in water. The pressure on my belly that I hadn't realized I'd been feeling was slightly relieved. Then the pain came.

One right after another the contractions came, I barely had enough presence of mind through the screams to push with them, hoping that it would help.

After a sudden massive pain following a contraction, I happened to look down. I almost forgot the pain, because the head and shoulders of a baby were visible. I put all of my effort into one giant push, and suddenly there she was.

My Aleksandr Phoenix was a girl.I picked her up for a moment and cuddled her against my chest.

"Phoenix Adriana," I murmured to her, "my little Nixie, my little dhampir." I crooned to her for a few minutes, holding her close.

Suddenly a man comes in with a mask over his face. He wordlessly takes my baby from me and does some routine tests and cleanup. But when he was done, instead of giving her back, he walked away. I tried to get up and follow him, but I couldn't. I was weak and in pain.

"NIXIE!" I screamed, hoarse, "Phoenix! Nixie! Bring her back!"  
"She is darkness," the voice told me, "Tainted, like you. But you can compensate for your sins and keep her alive. Listen to us and we will be sure that Lord Ivashkov is informed of his spawn." I fell silent. There was no question of not doing what they said. If there was the tiniest chance that Nixie could be spared, I would spare her. In that moment, I knew that I would never see her or Adrian again.

I felt my heart shatter, and with it my spirit and resistance.


	4. Hope

**A/N- Thanks to the most recent reviewer, Janhavi22. I agree with you about the Syndrian hangover- that's why I wrote this! Hope you guys enjoy!**

Adrian

I had spent the last two months drunk.

It wasn't a long period of time by my history, but felt like forever. Every moment without Sydney was a kind of hell but I hated myself for feeling that way. She truly _was_ in hell and I haven't been helping her. In my rare sober moments, I'd look for her in dreams, but I got nothing but a wall. I hadn't had any company aside from Aunt Tatiana in who knows how long. Which is why I stayed drunk- it shut her up. I stared at the cheap vodka in my hand. Was this the depth that I'd sunk to?

Suddenly, Marcus was in my apartment, courtesy of the key I gave him for if he needed it.

"Adrian," he snapped, "Didn't she have a sister who was passed over for Alchemyst duties?" I looked up blearily and nodded.

"Carly," I rasped, voice hurting from not having used it for much the past while.

"I found Carly," Marcus said, "She might be able to help us. If you sober up, you can come with me to see her." I stared at the bottle again. Suddenly, filled with disgust, I got up and poured its contents down the drain. Marcus looked approving. "Now go shower," he said, "You'll scare her away."

When I stepped into the bathroom, I realized Marcus was right. I doubtlessly smelled like cheap liquor, my hair was… well it wasn't attractively rumpled, that's for sure. I also needed to shave. I looked like a once-rich hobo. _You need a haircut_ came from Jill in a text. I smiled slightly before showering.

The hot shower, clean hair, and shave went a long way towards helping me feel better. I emerged with my hair in better repair to find Marcus on the phone.

"Now that I'm capable of charming eldest Sage" I attempted, "Shall we?" Marcus looked relieved to see me seeming normal. How often had he checked in and seen me drunk and stupid these past two months? I was still broken and empty inside, but with this new lead, I had a purpose, I had hope. I could find her.

Several hours later, we were pulling up to a college dorm. The whole way there, Marcus and I had been talking about how to approach Carly Sage. we hadn't come up with much, but he hoped that mentioning that Sydney was in trouble would help. We knocked and she answered the door, similar enough to Sydney to make my heart ache. Her eyes flashed.

"No, I want no part of the alchemyst crap. I gave that up years ago." She went to close the door and I took the plunge

"Please," I begged shamelessly, "We have to help Sydney!" She opened the door again partially, still suspicious.

"Help her with what?" her eyes were guarded.

"She was sent to Reeducation," I said miserably, knowing the inevitable next question.

"Why?" Carly demanded. Then she thought better of it. "Maybe you better come in," she sighed. Marcus winked at her.

"Who are you two?" she asked after we had settled down in her room with sodas. Not diet like Sydney preferred.

"I'm Marcus," Marcus said, grinning at her.

"That's a suspicious tattoo," she said, testing him.

"Just a little something to kill compulsion in Alchemyst tattoos and keep it from ever working on me again," he said, "I gave up 'that alchemyst crap' too." he added. She smiled a little more warmly at him before turning to me.

"And you?" she said, "Why does a Moroi care about my sister's safety?"

"Because I care about her," I said, staring at the table, "I'm Adrian, I'm the reason she's in this mess in the first place," I added bitterly. I looked up at them again to see a mixture of shock and sympathy on Carly's face.

"How can I help?" she said finally, "I can't just find this place." Marcus started to speak.

"I'm not sure-"

"Wait," I said, a few pieces of information coming together, "You're Carly."

"We established that," she said, "You came looking for me, remember?"

"You could put us in contact with someone who's been in reeducation," She and Marcus looked confused.

"Um.. No, I really can't," she said, "Sorry."

"When Sydney first came to Palm Springs, the local Alchemyst tried to get rid of her because he was running an illegal moroi blood and venom tattoo place to get money from humans. She busted his operation open, and then he was sent to Reeducation."

"So?" she asked, Marcus still looking confused. I hesitated.

"Before I tell you this, even if you can get in touch with this person, you don't have to. If you could just give us contact info, it would be amazing." Carly's eyes flashed in recognition and.. Fear?

"Keith?" she asked. I nodded. Her face was full of fear.

"I'm sorry-" I began.

"No," she said, "Keith came to me a while back begging me for forgiveness, and begging me to turn him in to the human police. He was destroyed. He felt that prison was the only place safe from the Alchemysts. That's who has Sydney?" she asked incredulous. I nodded at the table. I felt awful, this whole mess was my fault. If I hadn't lost the stupid phone..

"Um.. If I might ask, what is your connection to Keith Darnell?" Marcus asked Carly.

"He raped me after taking me on a date when I was a teenager. I only told Sydney and made her promise not to tell," Marcus looked floored. Carly simply shrugged, then looked at me with a critical eye.

"Sydney always made her own decisions fully informed," Carly said a bit more gently, this to me, "whatever happened, she knew the risks. And she chose you anyway." I half smiled at her as she turned to Marcus. "You want me to contact Keith?"

"Just put us in contact," Marcus assured her, "It wouldn't be fair to ask you to do that."

"I don't care," she said fiercely, looking more like Sydney than I could have imagined, "I'll have an easier time getting information from him. I'll do anything to help Sydney."

"Any details on his location would be excellent," Marcus suggested.

I put my head on the table, missing Sydney more than ever.

"Yo, Adrian was it?" I nodded at Carly, "You're alright for an evil creature of the night." I know she was trying to joke, but it was the last straw. She reminded me so much of Sydney making jokes like Sydney would make. Something in me shattered a little more. I put my head in my hands and tried to keep my body from shaking with the sobs I wanted to let out. I couldn't be weak, Sydney needed me.


	5. Understanding

Adrian

Carly emailed Keith from her phone, asking for a video chat when he was free.

"I'm sorry, Sage the eldest," I tried to joke after I managed to pull myself together. Carly's face was deadly serious.

"You love her," she said to me. It wasn't a question. I felt the darkness of spirit floating up into my soul.

"She is my flame in the dark," I couldn't think, the darkness was consuming me, "She showed me that I'm not at the mercy of the world around me. She believed in me. I could be better than I was. And for her, I wanted to be. She's beautiful and brilliant and her aura is amazing. She makes me getter. She chose me even though she had every reason not to," my mind cleared slightly,

"I'm just a useless Moroi royal party boy. Without her, I never would have seen anything. She encouraged me to finish a semester of college for the first time. She called in a favor with her teacher to get me into college, I never would have been able to go without her. She gave up the option to have an apartment that could keep her at a distance from these creatures she was still anxious about, but she gave it up for me. Because she knew I wanted a place. She always went above and beyond, giving 110% to others. And she loved me. _Me._ " I shook my head.

"How did they find you guys?" Carly asked, "I know Sydney, she's smart enough to cover her tracks." I felt even more miserable.

"We had these private, prepaid cell phones that she'd gotten to keep our relationship a secret. I lost mine, and Zoe found it. She reported it and the Alchemysts set up an ambush."

It was quiet for a while, Carly sneaking odd glances at me as she did some homework. Marcus was simply texting people. Suddenly, Carly's phone made a noise. She checked her email, and, eyes narrowed, began to type.

"She wouldn't feel like it's your fault," Carly said, "it's not her way. If anything, she'd blame herself," Carly smiled slightly bitterly, "Sometimes I felt like she was the eldest and I was the middle sister. She always took care of others. I don't blame you either. She made her decisions, As it happens," she continued, "And I approve." I stared openly at her. This woman was raised as an Alchemyst. She agrees with a human-vampire relationship? "I can see how Sydney would be attached to the brooding artist type, even though I never expected a Moroi."

"Wait-" I stopped her, "How on earth did you know I was a brooding artist?"

"Paint on your hands," she nodded at where I had my hands clasped on the table, "And brooding? Come on," she teased, "That's obvious. But you balance her out. She's very facts oriented in a lot of ways, it could only help her to spend a lot of time with an artist," Carly paused a moment, "So, um, how royal are you talking?"

"Queen Tatiana was my great aunt," I answered automatically, still trying to parse through the information that Carly had imparted. Carly's eyes widened, then narrowed as she looked closer at Marcus.

"The previous queen's nephew and the most wanted ex-alchemyst. I'm honored," she smiled and I was once again reminded of Sydney.

A few hours later, we figured out that all Keith knew was that it had been dry and hot in the place that he had been taken. Since he mentioned also that it had been November when they'd taken him out of there, he managed to narrow our search considerably. My heart lightened. We were so close!

Suddenly, my phone rang. I didn't recognize the number, but something prompted me to take the call.

"Hello?"

"Lord Ivashkov?" a cool, feminine voice spoke.

"Speaking," I said, attempting to sound royal, starting to worry.

"My name is Grace Sheridan. I am a high ranking Alchemyst in a rather top-secret department. I must request a meeting with you on a matter of some delicacy." My tired brain whirred.

"I will consent to the meeting, but request the right to bring a guardian with me."

"Granted," Grace Sheridan said. She proceeded to set up a meeting at a Research facility in Death Valley in three days. When she hung up, I stared at the phone.

"Who was it?" Marcus asked.

"Is Death Valley on your list" I asked instead.

"Yes," he affirmed, "Why?" I rattled off the name of the research center. "Can you check into that place? I'm meeting with Alchemysts there." Shocked, Marcus complied. Soon, I got a text from Jill. _Eddie is on his way. Carly's cool! She reminds me a lot of Sydney_

 _Thanks Jailbait. And she does._

 _It's no problem. You know why Eddie needs to do this_

I did know. Eddie had lost two people on his watch now at different times, he needed the opportunity to prove to himself that he's as capable of a guardian as everyone else thinks he is.

Carly allowed us to stay in her dorm while she was in class. Within several hours, Marcus knew.

"It's the reeducation center," he affirmed. My eyes widened.

"What could they want?" I asked.

"You're a royal and a Moroi, as well as a friend of the queen. They can't hurt you. I honestly can't find a good reason for them to need you to meet them. It worries me.

I was definitely glad Eddie was coming, I wasn't sure I was up for this. Marcus's next words confirmed my thought.

"We're busting her out of there.


	6. Rescue

Sydney

I had been in that cell forever.

Their tortures never seemed to end. Once they took my Nixie away, they stopped caring what they did to me. I simply let them. If I kept her safe, I would let them do this forever. It wouldn't surprise me if forever was precisely what they had in mind.

Today seemed as though they wanted to mix it up a bit.

They strapped me into a chair, but, unlike normal, they didn't turn on the projector to try to turn my brain against Moroi and Dhampirs. It hadn't been working, simply because I said what they told me to say mechanically. Everything about me was mechanical. They kept doing it because they wanted to break me.

They didn't know I was already broken.

"We need to take drastic measures," the voice said coolly from the walls. I said nothing. Suddenly, I heard the door opening. Was someone coming in? I was almost moved to emotion because I hadn't seen another human being, or even a moroi or dhampir, since the man had taken Nixie away. And that was the only person I'd seen it what felt like my whole life. I looked up and immediately wished I hadn't

The creature that came in looked like a Moroi, but not quite. There was a spark of madness in its eyes. It was paler than it ought to have been, and it had scars around its mouth. My heart started beating faster.

"This is Willem," the voice said, somewhat smugly, "He is here to show you what vampires do."

Willem walked over to me slowly. I couldn't have moved or made a sound if I tried. I was a bird locked in the eyes of a snake. I realized what he was going to do a moment before he was going to do it. I simultaneously tensed and relaxed. This would hurt, but then at least I could deal with a drug induced stupor. It was better than the empty one. I could feel something again. He bit my neck.

The endorphins never came.

After a few moments, I managed to scream. It was that split second of a Strigoi bite dragged on for hours. There were no endorphins. I dimly realized why he had scars around his mouth. They had operated on him to remove the glands that create the endorphins.

Soon, I passed out.

After some time, I woke up in my cell. They didn't give me much recovery time before they continued this particular torture.

I was in my cell when the alarms went off. I simply lay there, I wished they'd stop. I simply wanted to sleep. I wanted rest. I wished they'd leave me alone just long enough to rest. Or kill me, they had to know they weren't getting anything else from me.

Something came in my cell. I didn't have the energy to see what or who it was. For all I knew, they were sending Willem in my cell to torture me some more. Suddenly, I felt air underneath me as I was lifted. I screamed.

"Calm down, Sydney, chill!" I froze. I knew this voice. Marcus.

"Marcus?" I croaked. He sighed in relief.

"Yeah," he said, "We came to get you."

"Who?" I croaked again, afraid of the answer.

"Me, my group, Eddie," he said, "And Adrian of course."

"Adrian is out there?" I hoped my fear didn't show in my eyes. From the look on Marcus's face, it did. He looked sad.

"Of course he is," Marcus said, "He's been looking for you this whole time." I rolled a bit to get out of his arms. "No," Marcus said, holding on tighter, "You're weak from bloodloss and malnourishment and God only knows what the hell else they did to you in there. You're not walking." I decided to wait. Then suddenly, I realized- someone would find Nixie! I could get her back!

But when I got back out of the building and scanned the whole area, I blanched. Had they lied to me yet again? Had they killed my baby?

"Nixie?" I asked Marcus.

"What?" he replied, completely lost.

"Let me down," I said in a firm, but frightened voice, "I need to find Nixie!"

"Sydney, what are you-" he stopped when I rolled out of his grip and ran as quickly as I could back into the building, which wasn't that quickly. I called for her as I searched the building.

"Nixie! Nixie! NIXIE!" I cried, starting to worry that the tiny shred of life left in my heart was going to be extinguished. I heard a familiar voice shouting my name, but I couldn't spare anything to focus on whoever it was. I _had_ to find Nixie. My Nixie. My Phoenix. Born of the ashes of the flame in the dark

Suddenly, I found myself in a room that looked like a hospital room, but instead of a bed, there was an incubator for babies. And I heard crying coming from it.

"Nixie!" I cried. I ran over to her. She looked different. Her brightly blue eyes had changed to a familiar deep green, and she had a few wisps of blond hair. I carefully picked her up and rocked her, soothing her. There were some papers attached to her cradle and I grabbed those as well.

"Sydney? A scared, familiar voice cut through my singlemindedness. I turned around.

"Adrian?" I said, choking on his name, anxiety coursing through my entire body. I could feel the adrenaline, the flight or fight sequence trying to consume me. _Get it together, this is Adrian. He needs to meet his daughter._ Even through the conditioned fear, I yearned to hug him. I knew that was a good sign.

His face told me that I looked as bad as I felt. Then he saw Nixie, his own green eyes reflected back at him in another's face.

"Um… Who's this?" he asked, leery and confused. I took a deep breath.

"Nixie," I said, "Phoenix Adriana Ivashkov." My voice cracked on the last name. I almost wanted to laugh, he looked like he'd been hit with a board.

"Okay," he said, "Obviously we have a lot to talk about. Will you come with me?" I stared at his mouth, knowing that his fangs hid there. My whole body shuddered. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Please don't bite me," I whispered before I could stop myself, tears coming to my eyes in fear and self hatred. I wanted to be strong like I always have been. But now I'm broken and fearful. Of _Adrian_. He'd always protected me.

"Of course not, Sydney," he looked so horrified even though his voice was soft, "I'd never do that." I looked into his sad, hurt green eyes. I nodded and followed him out.

Marcus was waiting, and looked shocked at what, or rather _who_ , I had with me.

"We're taking you.. Three, to a safe house for a few weeks. I'll send ahead for supplies for the little one." I nodded again. I was holding Nixie close, using her presence to calm the fear that had been conditioned into me. We got into a car with Marcus driving, and soon Adrian started asking questions.

"Why Phoenix?" he asked.

"Have you ever heard the legend of the phoenix?" I asked, glad to be on familiar academic territory.

"Not really," he admitted.

"The Phoenix is a beautiful bird with feathers the color of fire. They are immortal and engage in a cycle of birth and death. When an old phoenix dies, it catches fire and burns to ashes. The baby bird is born out of the ashes of the flame. In this case," I stroked Nixie's hair, "This phoenix was born of the ashes of the flame in the dark." I wouldn't look at Adrian.

"Never took you for a poet, Sage," he said quietly. I looked up, there were tears in his eyes. He knew what I was saying- I never expected to get out of there. He knew that Phoenix's name was a message for him, just like Centrum Permanebit. "Can I hold her?" he asked unexpectedly. I hesitated, then handed her to her dad. I flinched when our skin touched. Adrian noticed and frowned, but then Nixie caught his eyes for the first time.


	7. Daddy

**A/N- So we have Sydney back! Don't worry, there's still plenty of story left. Just because Sydney isn't in reeducation anymore does not mean that her and Adrian's troubles are over. They've got a long way to go before they can have peace. Enjoy!**

Adrian

When Sydney flinched away from me, I frowned. I saw her fear from before, and realized that despite the love I saw in her eyes, I couldn't ignore the fear. Or the self-hatred. She hated herself for fearing me. Which, in a way, showed that she knew that she didn't need to be afraid. I was going to ponder ways to help her overcome her fear of me, but then the baby caught my eye for the first time.

Nixie had wispy pieces of blonde hair and my own bright green eyes. When she looked at me, she made a tiny burbley sound. My eyes felt like they were going to fall out of my head.

"She's beautiful," I breathed. I looked at Sydney, and saw love light up her eyes and banish the fear as she looked at me holding Nixie. That was when I knew that it was going to end up okay. "Like you," I added softly, looking at her. She blushed slightly, but it was bright against her pale skin, and she half smiled.

"Thank you, Adrian," she said softly, looking at me. For the first time since we had gotten her out of that place, the love in her eyes was brighter than the fear. The sound of my name in her familiar voice sent shivers down my spine. Oh how I'd missed her. I looked at her aura, the fear tone to it had lessened significantly. Because of that, I felt like it might be okay if I shifted Nixie to one arm and gently entwined my fingers with her shaking ones.

She stiffened. I frowned, looking at her aura. I could tell she was fighting fear. I went to take my hand out of hers and she instinctively held tighter. As tight as her tired body let her. Encouraged, I gently stroked the back of her hand. After a moment, she relaxed.

She asked me quiet questions about Jill, Eddie, and the others. After a while, she hesitantly asked about how I'd found her. So I told her about Marcus looking through the cities, about Jackie scrying, and me looking in dreams. I left out the part where I was drunk for two months, but she could probably tell that I was leaving things out. Then I hesitantly told her about Carly.

"You spoke to Carly?" life bloomed in those tired brown eyes.

"She helped us find you," I affirmed. She squeezed my hand. I wanted to cry seeing her, my heart broke for her weakened state.

It wasn't simply that she was exhausted, which she was, or that she was terrified, which she also was. It was that she looked malnourished. I could tell that she hadn't been able to eat properly in a long time. It was that she flinched anytime someone spoke in a loud voice. It was that I could see bruises on her arms and neck. Neck?

I looked more closely at her neck and saw bite marks. Moroi bite marks. What? She seemed perfectly coherent. I looked at her eyes. They were clear, free from the chemicals that the kind of biting she looked like she'd been subjected to would release. I'd seen her under the influence of Moroi and Strigoi endorphins before, she wouldn't be this coherent. It would however, make her apparent blood loss make sense. I thought about what she'd said earlier. "Don't bite me." What had they done to there in there?

If she would let me, I would heal her as soon as we got back to the safehouse. I would let her talk as much or as little as she liked. What she needed now was nourishment, safety, and love. I would be sure she got it.

After a few more hours, we arrived at Clarence's house. She started shaking and looked disgusted at herself. Remembering what had calmed her previously, I squeezed her hand, then gave her Nixie. Her physical stress reactions stopped, then she sent me an apologetic look. I smiled and gently squeezed her shoulder. She didn't flinch, and it looked like she counted that to be a huge victory. After a moment, she walked in.

"Welcome back," Clarence said gently to Sydney, "Who's this?" he referred to Nixie. I looked at Sydney. She took a deep breath.

"This is Nixie, Phoenix," she said quietly, "Nixie Ivashkov." Sydney looked at me as though worried about made the decision without me. I smiled at her, but internally was upset. She was so different now. Clarence looked stunned for a moment, then smiled.

"Congratulations, young lady," he said, "And to you too young man." I blessed Clarence with every bone in my body for his nonjudgemental ways. Sydney smiled wearily. Clarence handed me what looked like a diaper bag, and told me that Dorothy had packed it and to choose whatever room I liked.

I guided Sydney to a room with a large king sized bed. She needed space, but I couldn't allow myself to leave her. This would give her the space she needed hopefully. I gently took Nixie from her after laying some clean clothes for her on the bed.

"Shower, Sage," I said gently.

"Alright," she said after a moment.

After she gathered her stuff together and the shower started, I realized that I was alone with a baby. I stared at Nixie.

"Well," I told her, "We're going to have to figure this out sometime." I then realized that the baby smelled a bit strange. A check into the diaper she was wearing explained that. I searched the internet, then the diaper bag, and I began to try to figure it all out.

Ten minutes later, Nixie had a clean diaper and even a little onesie on. Luckily for me, she was a very accommodating baby. She was endlessly patient of my mistakes as long as they didn't hurt her. I had even managed to give her a sketchy sort of bath with baby wipes. I smiled at her after cleaning up the mess, and handed her a pacifier from the bag. She sucked on it contently.

"Well that went well," I told her. She smiled, and I instinctively smiled back, "You're such a pretty girl, little Nixie, such a beautiful girl like your mama," I cooed at her. She began burbling back at me. "I'm Adrian, little dhampir, I'm your daddy." I choked up at the words. I knew that my past with women might lead me here, but I had always been fairly careful. I'd never really thought about being a father. Not for real. But this baby, this little green eyed dhampir, was mine. She was my daughter. And she was perfect.


	8. Healing

Sydney

When I got out of the shower, I saw Adrian cooing at Nixie and playing with her. My eyes teared up. How many times over the past months did I hope that he would want her, would love her? I thought about the daydreams that had kept me sane through Reeducation. The ones where Adrian was a doting dad and was constantly taking care of me while I was carrying Nixie. I would never get that time back, but neither would he. And he seemed to be making up for the time he'd lost. One of my dreams had come true.

Suddenly he noticed me.

"You look much better," he said tactfully, smiling at me. I knew I did, with the dirt and sweat and general grossness of the past year washed away, I felt less afraid and more ready to handle whatever came. I looked down at me clothes and smiled

"I feel better," I told him, "Thank you for choosing my clothes." They had doubtlessly been his choice. I was wearing light blue jean shorts and my bright purple AYE shirt. When I put it on, it had smelled of Adrian. My Adrian. Further calming me in regards to him. His smile widened.

"You needed some color," he declared. I smiled. He cleared his throat and asked quietly, "May I heal you?" My mind raced, and my body started to shake. Quietly, he got up and handed me Nixie. That calmed the physical shakes, but not the emotional ones. He put a single hand on my shoulder. "I would never hurt you," he said clearly, looking into my eyes. I looked at him for a while longer, then nodded slowly. He moved his hand from my shoulder to my neck and closed his eyes. I felt the tiny high of spirit healing go through me as he healed the bites.

"How are you not addicted?" he asked quietly, staring at my now clear neck. I was confused until I realized what he meant. I felt the blood drain out of my face. "You don't have to tell me now," he rushed to say. I was touched that he would think of me. I boxed up my emotions for a moment.

"They had a Moroi of some sort in their facility. I don't know if he was insane to begin with, but he is now. He had no endorphins in his saliva. I have no idea how." Adrian looked appalled, but didn't probe further. I was grateful for how understanding he was being. He hesitantly placed a hand on my back. When I didn't flinch, he smiled at me and rubbed my back.

After I was calmer, Adrian looked at me,

"I'm going to find you and Nixie some food, and I'm going to call some reinforcements. Dorothy will find you food, and once you've eaten something I want you to rest, okay?" I frowned, then swallowed as a thought occurred to me.

"Once I've eaten, will you come back until I'm asleep? I-" I paused, hesatant to admit weakness, "I'm scared to alone." Adrian looked pleasantly surprised.

"Of course I will," he said warmly, "I just wasn't sure.." he trailed off. As awkward as I was being with him, he probably wasn't sure I'd wanted him there. But every moment I was getting more comfortable with him.

"The worst of it was the isolation," I said unexpectedly, "In that whole year the only people I saw was the doctor who took Nixie after she was born and Willem, the Moroi. And Willem is only very loosely defined as a person and only because of the terrifying… joy he had in his task.

"I spent so much time lonely and afraid and unable to sleep enough," I paused, "They wanted to break me. They almost did."

"But they didn't," Adrian pointed out, "You were stronger." I smiled a bit. Yes, I had been stronger than the Alchemysts. I was getting more and more comfortable around Adrian. A strange Moroi would probably cause problems, but ones I knew would never show me harm were slowly coming off the scary list.

Greatly daring, I shifted Nixie to on arm and wrapped the other around Adrian's waist. He felt comfortable and familiar. At first, he was too shocked to move, but then he slowly drew his arm around my shoulders so that I was tucked up into his side. He maneuvered me so that we could sit down on the small loveseat in the room, and I readjusted Nixie so that she wouldn't be squished as I snuggled further into his side. She spat out the pacifier that I just noticed that she was in possession of, and started babbling at us.

"Adrian, did you clean her up ?" I asked, slightly incredulously. I didn't really know what I was doing, but didn't think Adrian did either.

"Yep," he said proudly, "I cleaned her and changed her and put her in this cute little piece of clothing. The internet called it a 'onesie,' actually. I googled all of the steps in changing her," He added sheepishly.

"Oh Adrian, that's amazing!" I was grinning broadly, pleased and touched that he took his responsibility to Nixie so seriously. I felt his lips on my forehead and smiled gently.

"What were you going to name her if she'd been a boy?" Adrian asked suddenly. I blushed a little.

"Aleks," I said, "Aleksandr Phoenix. The Russian variant of the first name since your family seems to be from there."

"That's a good name," he reassured me, "I love her name though I don't know why you'd name her after me." I was quiet for a moment. It had initially been a gift for him, my last gift. Or so I thought. I was glad it hadn't been the final thing I could give Adrian.

"It flowed," I said finally, "And the feminine variant of your name is almost as pretty as you are," I teased weakly, then looked up at him. He seemed pleased to see me joking.

"Should I see about that food?" At my nod, he left with a wink to find Dorothy.


	9. Rest

**A/N- Well I goofed. I skipped a chapter. If you're seeing this as a notification, go back and read the last chapter. The contents have been replaced with what _should_ have been chapter 8. This was intended to be chapter 9. I'm slowing down a bit as I have a paper due soon, but I think once a week updates are fair! However, you guys will probably get another update Friday as an apology for goofing up the chapters. Thanks for your patience!**

Adrian

As I walked to find Dorothy, I began to try to puzzle out Sydney's behaviour. I'd been watching her aura, and it warmed as I stayed with her. I assumed that they had been mostly trying to make her fear moroi in general, but the large amount of personal experience she had with me was apparently overcoming the fear conditioning. Her little joke about my name had let me breathe a sigh of relief. My Sydney was still there despite all they'd done to her.

I soon returned to the room with food for both girls. I also had a contraption slung over my shoulder that Dorothy swore would be a baby bed after some set-up. After placing the tray on a table and divesting myself of the odd contraption, I pulled a crystal dragon out of my pocket.

"Hopper!" Sydney cried when she saw the dragon. She looked skeptical when I went to take Nixie from her.

"Eat," I said firmly, "I've got this." Her expression was mysterious.

"So you have," she said finally.

She traded me dragon for baby, and I fed Nixie while Sydney alternated feeding herself and Hopper. There was plenty of food on the tray, but Sydney wisely stuck to plain things like a turkey sandwich, feeding Hopper the sweet things and the rich things.

Soon, girl, baby, and dragon were quiet and full. Sydney, bless her, set up the mysterious contraption called a "pack and play" for Nixie, and I cuddled the baby and rocked her while Sydney slowly worked on the contraption. Nixie whimpered, and I, for lack of any other ideas, began singing an old song by The Doors. Miraculously, it worked, and Nixie began to calm down. Soon, she was sleeping.

"You're a natural at this," Sydney said quietly.

"Nah," I told her, "I just kinda go with it and hope."

"I hope I do well with her when I get a chance to really help her," Sydney said wistfully.

"Sorry about hogging her today," I told Sydney. I'd forgotten that she'd not spent any more time with Nixie than I had.

"Today I need to be taken care of," she said quietly, but firmly. "Once I've slept, I can do more."

"Good," I said, I wanted her to relax. As though she could read my mind, she climbed into the bed and cuddled up, looking at me expectantly. I smiled, then put Nixie into the box bed contraption. Once she was settled, safely on her back as the internet had informed me, I sat down on the bed next to where Sydney lay and began stroking her damp hair. Her eyelids fell immediately. She had a slight smile on her face.

While I sat there, I texted Carly: _I have her, she's safe_

 _Can I come visit?_

 _Let me get some guards of a sort._

 _Good idea._

I sent a short message to Rose. She knew that Sydney had been missing, and had wanted to get her back, but Lissa had prevented her.

 _Have Sydney. If you can, you and Belikov need to get here fairly quickly. There's a lot that's happened and I need someone I trust to help me until we can figure out how to proceed._

Now to wait. I knew that Rose would get back to me as quickly as she could. In the meantime, we were as safe as we could be. I gently got up and went to shower. When I got out, both of my girls were still sleeping. I smiled, then climbed on top of the comforter of the bed. I snuggled up near Sydney and managed to join her in an exhausted slumber.

I woke hours later to the sound of whimpering and crying. Nixie was awake. I changed her again, slowly and with an impressive lack of finesse. I then picked her up and lay on my side on one edge of the bed. Nixie was placed next to me, with plenty of room between her and Sydney. Sydney would murder me if she accidentally smothered Nixie. I quietly played with Nixie, giving her toys from the diaper bag to chew on. Suddenly, I looked up and Sydney was there. She'd managed to roll over and watch me play with Nixie for a few minutes while I was engrossed in my own thoughts.

She looked to me, and I handed her the toy. She began cooing at Nixie and playing with her. I loved playing with Nixie, but I knew that she needed time with Sydney. She responded well to the playing, so there was a good chance that she had been fairly well taken care of for the short time she was at the Reeducation center. She was starting to get attached to Sydney and I, which was as it should be.

I lay there contented and watched my girls play together. It was probably the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. While they were engrossed in each other, I grabbed my phone off the dresser and snapped a picture. As thin and worn as Sydney looked, she was still my beautiful girl.

Since Sydney had Nixie well in hand, I went to find Dorothy to get all of us more food. And I needed blood too. Soon after I'd had my blood, Dorothy came in our room with a large tray and another bottle. Sydney took the bottle from her and began to feed Nixie, crooning softly to her all the while.

"She'll sleep again after you feed her," Dorothy advised, "She will sleep after every feeding for a while. She is quite young."

"Thank you," Sydney said quietly, "That's good to know."

"You probably need to rest after eating as well," I told her. She nodded.

"I will," she promised.

After Sydney had fed and burped Nixie and had her sleeping, she applied herself much more vigorously to her food than she had previously. I smiled as I ate some of the food as well. Sydney would get better. She was strong. She had made it. Our happy ending would come.

I looked at the text I'd just received from Rose, and noted the time before reminding her not to be followed. Sydney had time for a nice nap before the cavalry arrived.

"Is this the final escape plan then?" she asked, "Living at Clarence's?"

"No," I admitted, "I was mostly focusing on getting you out. And now I'm focused on getting you rest. I've called in the cavalry and we'll figure out what to do."

"The cavalry?" she asked.

"Rose and Belikov," I admitted, "Eddie is out in the front, and Jill might be out there as well if you want to say hello. I'd advise a nap before Rose gets here though, she's bound to be a handful." I grimaced. Rose was going to go completely nuts. Sydney seemed to understand.

"I would like to see Jill and Eddie," she mused, "And it might do Eddie some good to see me cleaned up and… more human looking," she admitted. "I ought to apologize to him." I didn't think she needed to apologize, but he did need to talk to her, so I kept my mouth shut. They'd be better able to help each other than I would be able to help either of them individually.


	10. Reunion

**A/N- Sorry guys, my life has been falling apart a bit and I haven't been updating like I should be. I've still got more story written and more story to write so don't worry! Thanks to Iolanthe Ivashkov for the great review and reminding me to not let you guys down 3**

Sydney

When the two of us walked into the living room, Jill sprang up as if to hug me, but stopped short. I looked at Adrian, and he seemed to be focusing on something. He was using the bond to tell Jill to be careful with me. I gently put a hand on his arm and smiled at him.

"Sydney?" she said warily. Eddie looked up and his face lit. This was the first time I'd seen him without his typical guardian vigilance. The only thing I read in his face was relief.

"Hey Jill," I smiled at Jill. I walked over to hug Jill. I was shaking slightly, but most of my emotional responses were fine. Before Adrian could stop me in a sweet but unnecessary attempt to protect me, I hugged Jill. "I missed you," I told her. Jill's smile was like the sun coming up, and Adrian looked floored. I was proud of myself. Before I could think about it, I hugged Eddie fiercely. "Eddie, I'm so, so sorry," I told him. He was shaking more than I was.

"I couldn't protect you," he said quietly.

"You would have died," I told him, "They would have shot you the minute they had an opening. Jill needed you. I'm so sorry I lied to you though.." I trailed off. He let me go and looked directly into my eyes.

"No," he said, smiling slightly, "You have just as much of a protective instinct as I do, I would have done the same." I smiled back.

I settled on a couch in the living room tucked up under Adrian's arm and simply listened for a while. Jill was catching me up on everything I'd talked about all of the things she'd been doing in school, and some funny things that the others had done. Neil had eventually been sent back to court, and Angeline was dating Trey openly now. Trey was Adrian's roommate once his dad had cut him off for dating one of _them_ as both Alchemysts and Warriors would put it.

After that, Adrian cut in and started complaining about how Trey always wanted to clean things. It all just felt so _normal_ that my heart ached with happiness. I needed normal more than anything right now after the misery of the past year.

After a while, Jill spoke

"Um.. Sydney?" Jill started, I grinned at her, knowing what she wanted.

"If Adrian will come with me and make sure I'm changing her diaper correctly, I'll bring her out." Jill looked thrilled. I motioned to Adrian, who followed with a smile.

When we got back into the room, Nixie was just starting to become fussy. I pulled her out of the pack-and-play and checked her diaper. It definitely needed a change.

"Adrian," I started, as he supervised my cleaning Nixie up, "Do you think we could give her a bath?"  
"Let me see if there's any baby shampoo in this bag," he suggested.

"Good idea," I said, relieved, "And with two of us, one of us could hold her up while the other does the bath."

"Exactly," he said, "And we seem to have struck gold." He held up the familiar looking bottle that I vaguely remembered from when Zoe and I were children. The liquid inside looked rather like a light maple syrup. Adrian went in the bathroom and started the water.

"It's about time you got a bath," I told Nixie. She looked at me with her solemn green eyes, seeming to agree with me. After a short discussion, Adrian's argument that he was stronger and thus could hold a baby still for the time required for a bath won. So I snagged a small cup and gently poured warm water over Nixie. Surprisingly, she didn't cry. Nixie seemed to enjoy the bath instead, which I thought boded well for all of us. I scrubbed her few wisps of blond hair carefully to avoid getting soap in her eyes. At one point, I simply stopped and placed a hand on her tiny head.

"Oh Adrian," I said, "She's beautiful."

"You're both remarkable," he said, "I only wish I hadn't missed so much." I put my head on his shoulder, too overwhelmed with emotions to speak.  
"When I was.. In that place," I began, "while I was waiting for Nixie to arrive, I'd distract myself from everything that was happening by talking to her. I thought she was a boy at first, you see, and I called her Aleks all the time. But I was constantly talking to her and telling her about you and I. And when I wasn't talking to her, I kept myself sane by thinking about how great of a dad you were going to be." He turned his head and I felt his lips in my hair.

"Thank you, Sydney," he said in a choked voice. It was the use of my first name that told me how much that meant to him. I've known for a long time how his father's behavior haunted him. He was secretly terrified of becoming Nathan Ivashkov. What he couldn't accept was that he was in no way like his father. He was Adrian.

Soon, Adrian helped me dry Nixie and put a new diaper on her. We put her in another of the odd outfits that Adrian helpfully informed me was called a 'onesie.' Soon after, he helped arrange her in a slightly different carrying arrangement that was easier on my weak arms.

"How did you figure this stuff out?" I asked him incredulously.

"I google searched," he said, "I knew I needed to know all of the little details that I could as quickly as possible so that I could take care of Nixie while you rested and healed. I was fairly sure that this wasn't anything that you already knew about as well, so you'd need to know it too. I'm a pretty quick study too when I've got motivation," he finished, winking at me. I blushed so much that I was almost as purple as my tee shirt. It had mostly faded by the time we got back into the front, but JIll had a mischievous look in her eyes before she saw Nixie.

Jill's eyes lit up when she saw the tiny dhampir in my arms. I gently placed Nixie in her arms, and she was beaming.

"Sydney, she's beautiful," Jill murmured. I smiled at her and then dropped another bomb on her.

"You're her godmother," I informed her, "As soon as I can figure out a way to get to the official paperwork on her to get her birthday and stats, I'll use it to make your godmother status official." Jill looked at me with an amazed expression on her young face.

"Me? Really? But I don't know how or what to do or anything-"

"Neither do we, Jailbait," Adrian said to her, cutting off her rambling. Adrian's eyes were slightly misty, and he wrapped one arm around me and squeezed hard.

"Thank you," he whispered in my ear. I simply hugged him in response. The two of us cuddled on the couch as Nixie was carefully passed around. Even Clarence held the baby, doing so with an expert hand that reminded us that he had raised Lee mostly alone. Eddie simply looked flabbergasted when he held Nixie, Jill giving him pointers like she was an expert.

However, eventually, she started to cry. Jill brought her over to where Adrian and I were, and I rocked her gently until she calmed. Adrian and I alternated between chatting with the others and cooing at baby Nixie. Suddenly, something happened to shatter the sudden calm that had descended over our group. A voice from the door suddenly spoke.

"Holy, shit."

Rosemarie Hathaway had arrived.


	11. Incredulity

**A/N- I can't take credit for the marriage idea. Thanks Richelle! I'm using it for my own purposes though, so don't expect the same adventure that Sydney and Adrian had in SIlver Shadows. Also, I'm back guys! So sorry for the hiatus, but it should be over. I've still got a few more chapters written and a couple more to write.**

Adrian

I thought Rose's response was rather appropriate. It didn't surprise me coming from her.

"Rose," I said, "Belikov. Thank you for coming on such short notice."

"We were wondering what would cause you to send such an odd message," Dimitri said wryly, "The answer is fairly obvious now."

"Hello, Rose," Sydney said, "This is Nixie. Phoenix actually," she corrected herself.

"Huh," Rose said, "I never thought you'd be into unusual names." Rose seemed to be taking this in stride now that she had adapted to it.

"It was an unusual situation," Sydney replied wryly, "Besides, your people seem into the weird name thing. Adrian's family are the only ones I've heard of who don't have unusual names for the most part."

"Touche," Rose admitted. Her name was a source of annoyance for her, she much preferred her nickname. Lissa preferred her nickname as well. "So does anyone want to summarize the problems here?"

"Well," Sydney said, "Adrian, Eddie, and a group of already rogue Alchemysts broke me out of Reeducation so I have to hide from them. Your people can protect Adrian and Nixie from them, but not me. Nixie is also a bit of a complication as neither Adrian nor myself know how to take care of a baby. Plus, your people are most definitely going to have some issues with her existence. We don't know if the Alchemists know where we are or not, but they'll check here eventually because they consider it to be some sort of home base for me since all of my friends are here."

"Also," I cut in, "Sydney could really use some time to herself to recover. We both need time to get to know Nixie too. We've only had her for around 48 hours."

"Did you have her while you were in Reeducation?" Dimitri asked curiously. Sydney nodded wordlessly.

"They took her from me immediately," she admitted, "But I was lucky."

"Lucky?" I asked her incredulously.

"I tried to convince them to give her to you," she said in an emotionless voice, "I promised to comply with what they wanted if they gave her to you, but I had no way to know if they would." I realized what she wasn't saying. I wasn't surprised, I figured that they'd looked at it as 'purging the darkness.' I couldn't imagine how hard it had been for Sydney to go through all of that alone. I held her closer to me.

"I don't know if this helps," I told her, "But the reason we were able to get in there was that I'd been called to an Alchemyst meeting for something that they wouldn't speak of over the phone." Sydney looked oddly cheered by the information.

"I'm glad that they were going to do that at least," she said, "Though they probably had selfish motives for doing it, I'm glad."

Rose was watching our interactions with narrowed eyes. She seemed to be she burst out.

"How did this happen?" she gestured to Adrian and I cuddling on the couch, "When we met in Russia, you could barely stand to sleep in the same room with me."

"Time," Sydney said, "Time, familiarity, and the fact that the longer I spent with you the more human you seemed." Rose looked floored.

"You mean I was part of this?"

"Sort of," Sydney said teasingly, "I probably would have warmed up to these guys here in Palm Springs anyway, but realizing that you weren't what I'd been told all my life dhampir's were helped." Rose smiled. Suddenly, Nixie started crying. "She's hungry," Sydney said, looking at me.

"Why don't you go ask Dorothy to show you how to mix the formula properly?" I offered. She smiled.

"Thanks," she replied, then got up and left to go search out Dorothy.

"What was that all about?" Dimitri asked curiously.

"While she was sleeping and resting off some of the worst of what they'd done to her, I did a lot of research so that I could take care of Nixie and teach her how if she got lost somewhere. I didn't realize that it would make her feel inadequate," I added ruefully, "But I don't know how to do the bottles. Later on, I'll end up needing to know how to do it, so I'll ask her. It works."

"You've changed a lot," Rose noticed shrewdly.

"I have," I replied simply, "When we spoke in Texas after Olive Sinclair was restored, I was actually trying to preserve my cover. I was with Sydney at the time."

"That's why it seemed oddly forced," Rose mused, "Adrian, do you know what they did to her in there? She looks like she's ready to whither away into nothing, which is saying a lot since she didn't eat much to begin with. And there's something about her eyes…" Rose trailed off.

"Not completely," I admitted, "It's hard for her to talk about. When we initially rescued her, she would flinch away from me. Apparently, she also was exposed to a sort of captive Moroi that the Alchemysts had done something to and taken all of the endorphins out of his saliva. Her neck was covered with bites," Rose and Dimitri looked horrified.

"Eventually, we need to ask her about that," Dimitri admitted, "This odd captive Moroi could be the key to getting you guys free of them."

"I know," I said, "I'll talk to her and see if she'd be willing to talk to Lissa about it. She's the only one who could do anything, though we'll need proof."

"Would anyone have anything concrete that wouldn't require her having to testify?"

"I don't-" I stopped, "Marcus."

"Who?" Dimitri asked.

"Marcus Finch," I elaborated, "He's an ex-alchemyst. He helped me break Sydney out of there. One of his people might have copied the security footage." I texted Marcus, hoping I could get him. Otherwise I was going to have to look for him in dreams.

"You know what we really need to do?" Dimitri mused, "We need to get you guys out of the country."

"How?" I asked.

"Well," he said, "It's hard to smuggle people out of the country, but if we can get Lissa on board with this it will be easier." I nodded. Suddenly, I had an idea.

"Rose, one of Lissa's biggest problems with helping Sydney was that she wasn't really one of her citizens, right?" I asked slowly.

"Yes," Rose replied warily.

"Wouldn't she be more interested in the protection of Lady Ivashkov than she would of Sydney Sage?" Both of them looked dumbfounded.

"Adrian," Dimitri said, "While this is true, marriage is hard. It's a big deal."

"I know," I said calmly, "But I was planning on proposing to her eventually anyway." Dimitri scrutinized me for a few moments, then relaxed.

"Talk to Sydney first," Dimitri advised, "Then we'll chat with Lissa before we proceed. Since there's that poor Moroi to think of, this will give her a good reason to shelter you guys."

"Well," I said nervously, "I'll go chat with her."


	12. Proposal

**A/N- Yes, I know that the wording is similar. I'm trying to keep Adrian in character after all. Don't worry, after this there will be less book similariities.**

Sydney

I knew something was up as soon as I walked back into that room. Rose and Dimitri were tense, and Adrian looked vaguely nervous as well.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Can I talk to you?" Adrian asked, "In our room?" I only nodded. My stomach started to twist. Was he going to break up with me? Was he going to take Nixie? There wasn't much I could do to stop it if he did. As if he noticed my tension, he took my hand gently and led me to our room.

"What's wrong, Adrian?" I asked, nervous.

"What?" he said startled, "Nothing's wrong," he assured me, "I'm just trying to figure out how one does this." He guided me back to the bed and sat me down on it. Then, to my complete shock, he got down on one knee.

"Sydney Katherine Sage," he began, "I love you more than anything in the whole world, with the possible exception of the sleeping baby behind me. Would you do a brooding, deadbeat Moroi the honor of becoming his wife?"

"I-" I began, and then, to my horror, began to cry.

"Sydney?" he asked uneasily.

"I'm sorry," I told him through my tears, "Of course I want to marry you."

"Don't cry, Sydney," he said, instantaneously getting up and holding me.

"I just-" I hiccupped, "I don't even know how old I am or how old Nixie is, I'm so confused, my entire life has been turned upside down and I'm so happy to marry you but I'm extremely confused right now." Understanding dawned in his eyes.

"Sydney," he said, "Did you ever look at the paperwork that you brought in with Nixie?"

"No," I said, confused now.

"Well, it's a birth certificate," he said, finding it and beginning to read it, "She weighed 8lbs 6oz when she was born, was 19in long. Her birthday is November 26th. Today is December 28th." With this shocking information, I felt more grounded.

"So I'm still nineteen," I mused, "And Nixie is a month old. So how will us getting married help? I know we'd need to fairly soon because of Nixie, but why right now?"

Adrian explained his plan, and I had to admit it made sense. I wasn't excited about having to tell Lissa about the Moroi in the Reeducation center, but if her people knew about him then maybe he could get some help. Us being married would give her a legitimate excuse to not give me up in a trade, if Nixie wasn't a compelling enough reason. I nodded.

"Alright," I told him, "So what now?"

"Well, Rose is going to have us talk to Lissa. She'll decide what she will and won't do, and in the meantime, we'll be making the arrangements for a wedding."

"Wedding?" I perked up. I thought we were just going to go to the courthouse. It would make the most sense.

"You're getting a wedding," Adrian said, "A nice one, though probably one here in Clarence's yard. The hardest part is going to be the license, but I have an idea about how to pull that off too." I didn't think I could love Adrian more than I already did, but apparently I was wrong. I hugged him.

"Thank you so much," I told him.

"Anything for my girls," he replied simply.

We walked back into the living room where Rose and Dimitri were video calling Lissa.

"Hello, Adrian," Lissa said wearily, "And hello, Sydney."

"Hey there, cousin," Adrian said cheerily, "What's up?"

"Your situation is 'what's up,' she said ruefully, "But that footage that that ex-alchemyst sent is invaluable. Rose and I are discussing what to do."

"In regards to Sydney and I?" Adrian queried, "Or just in general?"

"Both," she replied, then spoke to me more gently, "If you can stand to tell me about that Moroi, I can speak to the council on your behalf and use the footage that your friend provided me as a way to prove that you were telling the truth so that you don't have to go through it in front of them."

"What about Adrian and I?" I asked.

"Well, Rose was discussing Adrian's idea, which I'm assuming he told you?"

"I told him yes," I smiled as Adrian put a hand on my shoulder. Lissa smiled faintly.

"Congratulations then," she said, "And with Nixie as well. Their idea has merit. The best one we've come up with is to move you here to Court for a while, during which time I will handle the Alchemysts. I will negotiate for the freedom of the captive Moroi and for yours as well. Phoenix is one of my subjects, as is Adrian. I see no reason for any baby to have to grow up without a mother if it doesn't have to." I smiled more widely. If the information from Reeducation would allow me to stay with Nixie, I would gladly give it up. "We plan to move you out of the country," Lissa continued, "We can get you passports and visas, as well as eventual citizenship."

"Rome," Adrian said.

"What?" Lissa replied, confused.

"Oh, Adrian, no," I told him, placing my hand over the one on my shoulder, "We can go wherever it's easiest, Your Majesty." I told her firmly.

"Liss," Adrian looked directly at the camera, not compelling, but beseeching, "Lissa, her life has been turned upside down simply because she cares about me. And not just me, Jill, Eddie, and Neil as well. And Rose. One of her life's dreams is to live in Rome. If it's at all possible, Rome would be the best place to send us. It has benefits too, it's sunny so there's less of a Strigoi problem. And Sydney can probably speak Italian."

"I can arrange that," Lissa said, looking surprised at Adrian's argument, but happy. As though he had answered some question she hadn't voiced.

"I-" I choked a little, "why are you doing this?" I whispered.

"Well," Lissa said, "Logistically, it's reasonable by Adrian's argument in regards to Strigoi, and you're giving us information that is potentially going to change the way we deal with the Alchemysts for the better. You ought to be given anything I can manage to give you. From the perspective of a friend, what you've done for Adrian is amazing. I've never seen him so happy. After all you've done for each other, it's obvious that you love each other. And if you two are a little unorthodox together, well, you are both unique individuals who need someone special to complete them. If there's anything I can do to facilitate your happiness, I'll do it. And this is something I can do."

I was floored. My eyes welled up with tears, and without warning I was crying into my hands.

"Sydney?" Adrian's worried voice asked, "Sydney, what's wrong?" He wrapped his arm around me and led me over to the sofa where he held me close as I cried. I couldn't believe it. I kept waiting for them all to pull the rug from under my feet. My own father didn't love me, how could these people? After a little while of just letting some emotional steam out on Adrian's likely expensive silk shirt, I could speak again.

"I'm sorry," I croaked.

"Don't ever be sorry for feeling," he replied immediately, "Can you tell me what's wrong?"

"I," I paused, "It's all just so much. After so many months of misery, I almost don't know how to handle being loved and cared about. You…" I stopped for a minute, trying to formulate my thoughts, "You always saw and loved me as I was. No qualifications, no agenda. The only people in my life who never put a price or a limit on love were Carly and Mom. Everything else was calculated and what I could do for people. I was taught your people were evil, wrong, and immoral. Yet how could that be true when I saw more loyalty, love, and acceptance in you and your people than I did in mine? It still just blows my mind that people who I don't know, who barely know me, can just decide to accept and care for me." Adrian looked shocked, then held me close to his chest, playing with my hair.

"Sydney," he started, "You accept people the way you crave acceptance. Most people, normal people, dhampir, moroi, human, any of the above, reward acceptance with acceptance. That's just how people work. They accept those who accept them. The way you love people will, in a normal world, always bring you love. You are so lovable," he continued, to my amazement, "and it's always blown my mind that your father could never see how amazing of a person you are," I couldn't speak as he tilted my chin up so that I could look into his intense green eyes, "You are lovable and you are worth it," he said, "You will always be worth it to me. You are worth everything."

He moved his hand from my chin to cup my face, gently brushing away stray tears with his thumb. I smiled at him, prompting a grin from him. I gently pulled my face from his hold and hugged him. I felt a happiness in my soul when I realized that they hadn't been able to make me stop loving Adrian, they hadn't even made their fear conditioning work. He was there, he was mine, and he was ready to be the best dad any dhampir had ever had.


	13. Details

Adrian

After letting her calm herself, I led Sydney back over to the table with the video chat prepared.

"Feeling better?" Lissa asked.

"Yes," Sydney replied, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

"I'm just Lissa," Lissa replied firmly, "You're just as much my friend as Adrian is, and I look forward to spending some time with you at court if you're willing." Sydney's smile was like the sun coming up. I couldn't help but compare it to the first time she was in a room with all dhampirs and moroi; she'd been terrified. Now the prospect of spending time with the Moroi queen was something that made her happy. Every day she got stronger and was able to shake off more of what they did to her.

"Thanks, Lissa," Sydney replied.

"Do you think that you can testify now?" Lissa asked, "I can give you a couple of days if you need it, but not much more than that so that I can get things ready on this end." Sydney nodded.

"I'd rather get it over with," Sydney admitted. I put an arm around her.

"Alright," Lissa said, "Whenever you're ready."

As Sydney's tale unfolded, Lissa's face got darker and darker. An insane Moroi named Willem had been led into a room with nothing but a chair that Sydney had been strapped to. Willem was permitted to drink from her, but not for long. Sydney faltered as she told Lissa had no endorphins.

"What do you mean?" Lissa asked gently.

"When I first came to Palm Springs, we had a Strigoi problem," Sydney waited for Lissa's nod of acknowledgement before continuing, "The Strigoi drank from me, though not for long. So I know what that sort of bite is supposed to feel like. I also know that the endorphins aren't as strong as Moroi, but there is a definite positive feeling and reaction. For me, there was none of that. That's why I'm not addicted to it, there was no 'high' in his bite. Only pain," she added quietly.

"That is an abomination," Lissa said angrily, "A Moroi like that would have a hard time getting the blood he needs. The endorphins are the reasons that people volunteer for that particular function. They're usually druggies anyway, and we try to improve their quality of life. But none of the feeders would ever allow a Moroi like this near them. I hope that we can find a way to reverse the condition," Lissa added worriedly.

I looked at Sydney. She had been calm throughout the interview, but when I looked at her more closely I could tell it wasn't calm so much as the fact that she had completely shut herself down. I pulled her to me, stroking her hair. After a few moments, she allowed herself to start shaking and crying. I just let her cry, she needed it. I wished I could get Nixie for her to hold, that always helped her relax.

Suddenly, Jill showed up with Nixie.

"I heard her making noise," she explained, eyes flitting to me in a silent message. I smiled in thanks. Sydney sat up as Jill walked over and handed her directly to Sydney. Nixie was indeed whimpering, but quieted when Sydney started singing to her. Once both girls were calmer, Sydney offered Nixie to Rose.

"Would you like to hold her?" Rose looked oddly terrified. Suddenly, Dimitri's laugh appeared in the room.

"You should see your face, Roza," he said affectionately.

"I, uh," Rose looked uncomfortable, "I'm really not very good with children," Rose explained.

"Paul and Viktoria would disagree," Dimitri said with a grin, "As would Karolina." Rose turned pink and started muttering about "of course she wouldn't have let Dimitri's family have trouble when she could prevent it."

"Face it, Rose," I said grandly, "You are the baby whisperer," I paused, then changed my mind, "Actually, I'm the baby whisperer, you're my assistant."

"Do I not make baby whisperer status?" Sydney said with a faint grin.

"You're her mother," I said breezily, "A baby's mom will always know what she needs even if she doesn't know herself." Sydney smiled more at me. She greatly wanted to be the best mom ever, but was afraid that she wouldn't be able to do it. If simple comments like that were all it took, I would shower her in them.

"So," Rose said, changing the subject, "How are we going to get you two safely married without bringing down the wrath of the Alchemysts on us?"

"Well," I said, "I have some ideas."

"Really?" Rose said, eyebrows rising.

"First of all," I said, "Someone here is going to have to get a clerical license. You can get them on the internet. In regards to dresses and jewelry and such, we can get it online and have it shipped here. I know of places that will take measurements and tailor things specifically to specific sizes."

"How on earth are we going to pay for this?" Sydney said quietly.

"Now now," Clarence said, tottering in, "No need to worry. Your predicament, while unique, is easy to fix in this manner. I shall help you." My eyes widened as he took a box off the shelf, one that I'd seen often while living there, and opened it to reveal stacks of hundred dollar bills. Sydney's eyes were the size of her face, and Rose muttered something in Russian that sounded suspiciously like a swearword.

"Th- thank you, sir," Sydney said.

"Think nothing of it," Clarence said with a smile, "You and your friends have brought happiness and adventure to my twilight years. I have enjoyed having you all nearby."

"You have no idea how grateful we are," I said honestly. Clarence simply smiled.

"And," he added, with a twinkle in his eyes, "I think if you ask Dorothy, she knows someone in the courthouse that can make the details easier." My eyes widened. Sydney got up and left, presumably to speak with Dorothy.

"Clarence," I stopped, unable to communicate how grateful I was to him for what he'd done.

"Hush, young man," he admonished, "You just treat those girls right as I know you can. You're an honorable man, and all I could ever ask is that you care for that Alchemyst who has given up everything for you."

"To my last breath," I promised. Soon, Sydney returned, with both Dorothy and Nixie. Dorothy passed Sydney a bottle, and then she spoke to me.

"My friend Bob works in the courthouse," she said, "He owes me a favor, and I can get him to come up here to do your paperwork without anyone being the wiser. You just have to have a story for him as to why." I thought a moment.

"Well," I said, "We could tell him that her family doesn't approve of me, especially after the baby, and they're trying to find her and take her home before I can marry her. We could throw in the fact that they don't want her to keep Nixie as an added reason why she left home. They know that they cannot legally stop us from marrying, but they're certainly trying."

"It's close enough to the truth that we will be able to tell it easily," Sydney added from the chair where she perched with Nixie. I nodded.

"Good idea," Dorothy replied, "I'll call him and convey the need. When do you need him?" Dorothy asked.

"A week," I decided. Sydney looked surprised, but didn't comment. "And now," I said, "I'm going to go make some purchases. Sydney, can you search out wedding dresses and pick one by tomorrow?"

"Of course," she said, smiling, "Do we have wedding colors?"

"Yellow and purple," I said to her with a quick grin.

"Of course," she replied, "I'll get you a tux too so that it matches me. I'd go with a soft, pastel sort of yellow and a lavender," she advised.

"Decorations are your decision," I told her, "Just send me the exact shades for some things I need to get."

"Done," Sydney said with a grin, "As soon as I feed Nixie, I'll get right on it. Rose, will you be a bridesmaid?"

"Duh," Rose replied.

"And Jill," Sydney decided. I left her making decisions.

Once I got to Clarence's large desktop computer, I sent a text to Rose. _Send me the dress she gets you. I'm going to get her mom and sister here in secret. I think her sister would want to be in her wedding._

 _You're more romantic than I thought, and I always thought you were pretty romantic. Of course I will. Dimitri is ordering a clerical license online as we speak._

 _You and Belikov have saved the day again._

 _That's our job._

After that conversation, I wandered outside into Clarence's large backyard and called Carly.

"Is my sister okay?" she demanded.

"Sydney is doing much better, she's recuperating well," I told her, "Though there have been some complications that nobody foresaw."

"Like what?"

"Um.." I hesitated, "Well, there's a baby involved, and she and I are getting married in a week. We're working with my queen to negotiate safety for us." There was silence on the other end of the line. "Carly, is there any way that you and your mom could sneakily get here by the end of the week? If you can, I want to surprise her. I know she'd want you in her wedding, so if you'll send me measurements I'll have a dress made up for you." It took Carly a few moments to recover, but she soon spoke again.

"You're a good guy, Adrian," she said quietly, "Mom and I will be there. When should we get in?" We arranged the rest of the details, and I texted Eddie, who would be picking them up the night before.

Sydney would get everything she deserved and more.


	14. Preparation

**A/N- Wow. That awkward moment when you realize that you had two other finished chapters that were never published before you finally write again. Whoops. Well now I've got up to chapter 16 ready for you guys. Hope you enjoy this.**

Sydney POV

I woke up on my wedding day to the sound of Nixie crying.

To most people this sounds like an unpleasant way to wake up, but I was always so glad to hear her that I simply felt relief. Stopping the crying was simple: change her, feed her, burp her, and then begin to play with her. This morning, however, Adrian took Nixie from me.

"Even with my extended beauty regimen," he said, "It's still going to take you longer to get ready." I nodded, butterflies in my stomach beginning to build. Jill met me outside the door, a grin on her face.

"Are you excited?" she asked, "I'm so excited for you! I can't wait to help you get ready. You're going to look absolutely beautiful!" I listened to Jill babble, allowing the familiar sound to calm me. I was oddly nervous. I saw no reason why I should be, it was just _Adrian_ for crying out loud. There was no reason to be nervous. Unsurprisingly, telling myself that didn't help all that much.

When I arrived into the large bathroom that the girls had decided was to be used to get me ready, I was shocked by the amount of makeup and hair products that were spread across the counter.

"What?" I began.

"I went shopping," Rose announced.

"Um.." I paused, then went for it, hoping she wasn't offended, "I thought you were just into the whole guardian thing?" I turned it into a question at the end to make it seem less rude. Hopefully. Rose began to laugh.

"I was fairly normal for a teenager," Rose teased, "When I was in high school, I took Liss and ran away thanks to an unknown spirit user compelling me and infecting me with paranoia. We lived like normal teenagers, and had before then. In particular, I was a huge partier," she added, "After we were caught and brought back, I was told to get serious about my guardian training, or I was getting thrown out of school and disqualified as Lissa's guardian. Since that's all I wanted out of life at the time, I knew I needed to listen to the people who made that point. That was around when I calmed down. I used to be more into makeup and beauty products than Lissa was, I've always been so vain about my hair," she finished ruefully.

"Rightly so," Dimitri said, walking in, causing Rose to blush to the roots of her admittedly fantastic hair.

The banter continued as Jill and Rose sat me down facing away from the mirror and did mysterious things to my face and my hair. I was grateful to them because it distracted me from my strange growing nervousness.

After a few moments, Jill left the room, returning fairly quickly with Nixie, who was wearing a lavender flower girl dress covered in a bib for the time being. I felt my face light up at the sight of her. She looked adorable. Jill was also dressed, wearing a pale yellow bridesmaid dress that stopped at her knees. Once Jill returned, Rose left, presumably to dress as well.

Jill passed Nixie to me as she began to put on makeup, making it very similar to the makeup done by Lia DiStefano's artists for her modeling show. Once her makeup was done, she started on her hair. A bit of mousse later, and Jill's fluffy curls were calmed and looked more like beach waves.

I looked down at the beautiful ring Adrian had come up with a couple days after our formal engagement. It had one large diamond ringed in tiny lavender diamonds, so pale that they looked almost clear, but purple enough that I could see them.

"You two will do fine," Jill said suddenly. I suddenly got a lump in my throat.

"Thanks for everything, Jill," I said, hugging her gently around a sleeping Nixie, then passing Nixie back to Jill.

"I'm just glad to see you both happy," she said with complete sincerity.

"I agree on that," Rose said, also wearing a soft yellow dress, and carrying mine. I grinned at the sight of the dress. It was Old Hollywood, something that I'd always secretly been fascinated by. The dress I'd bought was long sleeved, but the sleeves and the entire bodice of the dress, were made of or covered in lace. The dress clung to me until it hit my thighs, where it flared out into a train. My veil was sheer, not falling far down my back.

I stared at myself in the mirror as I realized what Jill and Rose had done. The foundation of the makeup was subtle, but gave me the tiniest bit more healthy color. They had, thoughtfully, covered up my golden lily completely. In a nod to the style of the dress, my lips were a bright red that in no way worked with the wedding colors, but complimented the dress and the vaguely winged eyeliner perfectly. My now long blonde hair was swept up in a comb, with my veil placed next to it.

I felt beautiful. Suddenly, I heard my thoughts echoed in the sound of a familiar voice.

"You look beautiful, Sydney." I spun around as quickly as the dress would allow me.

"Mom?" I whispered. It was her. My eyes filled up with tears as my mother and my older sister rushed over to me and hugged me carefully. "How?" I asked.

"Blame Adrian," Carly said with a grin, "Not bad, little sis, not bad at all." For the first time, I realized that she was wearing a lavender dress the same color as Nixie's. "I claimed maid of honor status," Carly explained.

"Neither Jill or I minded," Rose commented with a grin.

"Where is she?" my mother asked suddenly. I understood immediately and beckoned to Jill, who handed me Nixie.

"Nixie," I said softly to the baby, "Wake up, Grammie is here." Without a sound, Nixie's eyes blinked open. I could literally see my mom's heart melt as she met her first granddaughter's bright green eyes. I handed her over without a word.

"Oh," my mom said, "What a beautiful little girl you are Nixie, Grammie is going to spoil you so much…" Mom trailed off and began babbling at Nixie.

"I'm so glad I could be here today," Carly said, putting an arm around me.

"Me too," I said quietly, marvelling at the fact that Mom _knew_ that her first granddaughter wasn't 100% human, but you'd never know it. Nixie was loved and accepted as she should have been from the beginning. If she hadn't spent that miserable time with the Alchemysts.

Yet again, I pushed down the fear that had been growing over the past week that the Alchemysts knew where I was and would be there to ruin my wedding day. Part of me wished I'd convinced Adrian that if this was going to work, elopement was the only way. But I knew him, and I knew he wanted this too. I could have given it up for my little family's safety, but my happiness wasn't the only thing on the line.

Dimitri stuck his head back into the room.

"Sydney, are you ready?" I looked around me, at the family I had meshed together from the Sydney I was two years ago and the Sydney who I had slowly become. I thought about the Moroi who loved me standing outside, waiting for me. My nervousness doubled and my excitement tripled. My face exploded into a grin.

"I'm ready," I told them.


	15. Wedding

**A/N- Not gonna lie, this chapter was so emotional to write. I wrote it a few months before my own wedding back in April. I was trying not to cry as I wrote about the moment Adrian saw Sydney. It's kinda scary how accurate this turned out to be with my own wedding! Also, according to Richelle, Adrian is a huge fan of classic rock and specifically the Rumours album by Fleetwood Mac. Songbird is one of the songs on that album and I thought that it fit their relationship to a T. Listening to it is highly recommended!**

"For you, there'll be no more crying.

For you, the sun will be shining.

And I feel that when I'm with you,

It's alright, I know it's right.

To you, I'll give the world.

To you, I'll never be cold.

'Cause I feel that when I'm with you,

It's alright, I know it's right."

-Songbird, Fleetwood Mac

Adrian

I stared at my hand for a moment, watching it shake before looking at Dimitri, who simply shook his head and smiled.

"You're ready," he said.

"No, I'm not," I said, confused.

"Sonya told me that you're going to feel the least ready when you're actually the most ready. It's when you feel ready that you might need to be careful. People misjudge themselves more often than not, and admitting that you're not ready means you're willing to admit that you're wrong, or that you may need to change." I thought about that for a moment, then nodded.

Then the music started.

It's curious the things you remember on the most important days of your life. Most of my memories of this wedding are in flashes. Bits of things that stand out.

The white silk carpet that went down the aisle.

The way the pastel yellow and lavender dresses flattered their wearers, making me think of Sydney's aura.

Wiping my sweaty palms on my tux.

Rose dancing down the aisle with Marcus next to her.

The way the indigo ink on Marcus's face shone in the sun.

The tingling of that same sun on my well sunscreened skin.

Jill's Dragomir eyes staring into mine intensely as Clarence led her down the aisle, Nixie in one arm.

An odd mirroring sensation when I saw my own eyes reflected in a baby dhampir's face.

A moment of pride realizing that this beautiful baby was half me.

Carly's joyful face, looking so similar to my Sydney.

Familiar soft piano notes at the beginning of Songbird by Fleetwood Mac and a rush of affection for the wonderful woman who chose to walk down the aisle to my favorite song.

And then, there she was.

The rest of my wedding may be a blur, but I will remember the moment she appeared for the rest of my life. First all I could see was her mother, beaming with joy. Then I saw her. I felt tears come to my eyes as I beheld my beautiful bride.

Her dress was completely unexpected. Old Hollywood, clinging to her body until it hit her thighs where it simply draped to the ground. The whole thing was covered in lace, with only lace covering her back and arms. Her hair was held up with an elegant comb that sat on her sheer veil that framed her face softly. Her golden lily was covered and her makeup managed to make her look even more elegant than I could ever have dreamed. A tiny part of me made a mental note to buy Sydney a new lipstick in that precise color, it was the same color as that Halloween costume that Lia DeStefano had made for her. But the rest of my mind was simply drinking in the sight of her.

On any other day, the fact that I was crying in public would have been embarrassing. But today I just felt joy. Complete and total joy that this perfect woman wanted to be _mine_ of all people's. That she had chosen me and given me a beautiful daughter and now she was walking down the aisle to pledge to spend the rest of her life with me in front of our friends. As I watched her, I silently vowed that I would always and forever be the man that she seemed to think I was. What I had told her was right: I wanted to be better with her, but I wanted to be better for myself. She made me want to be the best man I can be.

I felt something soft press against my hand and realized that Dimitri was handing me a tissue with a look of understanding. I thought about Rose's offhand comments about his family when she would mention her time in Russia and understood. He was looking forward to his own day as well. I gave him a smile that simply said "your time will come" and he nodded, looking sideways at Rose as if to say "when her stubbornness gives out."

Her mother's joy had tripled over the course of the walk as she, as everyone else had, saw my love and devotion to Sydney in my face. When she placed Sydney's hand in mine, she looked at me and quietly said,

"Take care of my girl."

"Always," I replied.

Most of the ceremony was a blur as well. The vows were simple, and the joy in Sydney's face made my breath catch. It occurred to me that she was just as happy to be marrying me as I was to be marrying her. As I listened to Dimitri, I studied her aura. It was shining the way Rose's did in Dimitri's presence. The purple was especially prevalent. All I could think about was her. Then suddenly, I heard Dimitri finishing things up.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may kiss the bride." That was what I'd been waiting for. Before Sydney could blink, I swept her up into a kiss that was definitely going to muss that beautiful lipstick. When we broke apart, we were both breathless. Then Dimitri beamed at us.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to introduce to you for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Adrian Ivashkov!" As everyone clapped, he slipped me the signed and notarized wedding certificate.

And at that moment, all hell broke loose.


End file.
